Saturday, 23 August 2008

The news

Statistics:

Flying remains by far the safest form of transport. If you travel by air for a lifetime you have a 1 in 2.5 million chance of being killed. Use the train and that drops to 1 in a 50,000 chance. On the road that becomes a 1 in 200 chance.

Last year 2,943 people died on the road. How did the families of each of those cope? An air crash, by the nature of its size and rarity, always attracts more publicity - and far more fear - than road casualties. We hurtle towards each other at 60 miles an hour on small rural roads without knowing what the other driver might do. What happens if he swerves? Or his front tyre bursts? Or he is only 17 (or even younger) and travelling too fast? Nobody knows or really cares?

A VETERAN cyclist killed by a car driver on the Itchen Bridge in Southampton has been hailed a "figurehead" of the cycling community:

Derek Witt, 60, from Swanwick, was among four riders crossing the bridge on Wednesday evening when he was struck by an oncoming Peugeot 406 car. He died at the scene. Fellow cyclist, 32-yearold Peter Sneddon, from Whiteley, suffered "serious and extensive" injuries to his legs and chest. He was last night in a "serious but stable condition".Both men were married with families.MrWittwas also a grandfather. The cyclists, part of the Woolston-based DHC racing team, were heading away from Southampton and approaching the top of the bridge at about 8.45pm when the dark-coloured car crashed into them. The cyclists were returning from Calshot velodrome where they had been filmed to document the popularity of the sport because of the Olympics. Mr Webber added: "We all ride the bridge quite often. You don't expect it to happen when you have wide lanes and cycle lanes." Julian Gee, chairman of the Sotonia cycle club, the largest in area, said: "Our condolences go out to their families. It's a tragedy whenever a cyclist gets killed and is a reminder to us all how vulnerable we are on the roads."

Residents in Swarland, Northumberland, have been asked to note down registration numbers of cars they think are over the speed limit. Northumbria police will then issue a letter to the alleged offender, and store their details on a database. But the police have be criticised for asking people to become 'do-it-yourself traffic officers' while some claim the scheme will be open to abuse to villagers with an axe to grind. If reported twice, motorists can expect a visit from an officer and after three they will become a target for police to monitor. Police came up with the scheme following complaints that drivers were not slowing down when entering the village from faster country roads. A range of speed calming measures were explored by the council, but none were considered acceptable by highways authorities.

In other words, the police will bend over backwards to avoid enforcing road traffic law and to avoid prosecuting dangerous drivers, highway authorities are far more obsessed with traffic flow than they are with the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, and even campaigners for slower speeds can be idiots. In this case the man leading the campaign is an ignoramus who understands nothing about speed: